Really?
They were bred to fight one another for sport back when such a thing was common. Do you disagree with this? Do you disagree that this can accurately be summarized as “violent”?
From wikipedia:
If I, and the wikipedia page along with me, am wrong about this: What is your theory? What were Pit Bulls bred for?
First of all, since Wikipedia is written by any old Joe non-expert, the veracity of its claims is impossible to know and therefore fails as a reliable cite.
But more importantly, you can’t even read your own cite properly. It doesn’t say these dogs were bred to fight one another, it says they were used as fighting dogs after using them as bait dogs for bulls and bears was made illegal.
So yes, you’re wrong about this, and my theory is that’s because you’re willfully being ignorant on the matter.
Lets say that we agree with the fact that pits were bred for violence, and that they bred to fight other dogs. How does that make them different from most other dogs? All of our terrier breeds have roots in killing other things. Our guardian breed dogs were bred to attack and subdue humans. What do you think a Labrador does when the bird he was sent to retrieve is still alive and in fighting shape? Our herding dogs were expected to fight to protect their flock. We have dogs that were developed to hunt wolves, bears, lions, and wild boars. To single out Pitbulls as especially dangerous because they were bred to kill 30 to 50 pound animals shows seems ignorant.
For the past hundred years or so like most dogs they’ve been breed for pets. Exactly how many generations do you think it takes to change a breeds purpose?
Yep. You can look it up.
For the past 150 years/100 generations or so? Companion dogs.
For the record, I just wanted to make note of something:
Which was the last we heard from RedFury.
Just taking note.
I just had an encounter with a pit bull. I was at a store, and this woman and her two children (both probably under 5), were afraid of this dog, so I put myself between them and the mutt, and let the mutt lick my fingers. It was a pit bull, 1 and a half years old, according to the owner. I’m counting my fingers, now, and I still have all ten.
He paid for the $5 I came up short, so I didn’t have to unring one of my purchases. It would seem that anti-pit prejudice is common enough that feeding fingers to them will get you at least $5 props, and it won’t even cost you a finger. The anti-pit posters in this thread, on the other hand, indicate I should be about two hands short. Gee. I wonder what happened, there… :rolleyes:
Oh, but that’s the pro-pit bull propaganda machine at work, just like in the case of this firefighter. (I’m not sure which smiley is appropriate, but I’m being sarcastic, in case there is confusion.)
(Seriously, what a fuckwit that guy is. He hasn’t seen a friendly one…really? My introduction to pit bulls was at the city pound. Here’s a leash, go walk a pit bull you’ve never met before that was abandoned or surrendered or (later after taking a class) seized from an inmate awaiting trial. Not a single incident.)
Where’s the story? Seriously, I clicked the link and it came up with your title and an intro to the story, but nothing more.
Are you using any kind of blocking? It’s a video.
The usual ridiculous canard against Wikipedia. Wikipedia is cited. Follow the links to the pages they cite.
No blocking.
Weird :dubious:
The problem is not the “predisposition” of a pit bull to attack. It’s what happens after they attack. I have found the idea that a pit bull never lets go once they bite to be 100% true. My pit bull loves to play tug of war. She really really really won’t let go. I have a toy on a rope and the only way to ever get her to let it go is to drop the rope and wait until she gets bored and drops the toy. I’ve never seen her let go of the toy once, for a second, when playing tug of war. And this is while she is having “fun”. I shudder to think what would happen if she were ever truly mad or scared.
She is a VERY sweet dog and I never feel unsafe around her, in fact, I’ll put my hand in her mouth and let her tug on my fingers. This is when she’s relaxed. She’s not mean at all. But if she were ever to get rough I’d be scared. Not for me but a stranger. Strangers don’t react well to Pitt bulls and it’s a bit difficult to walk her without being concerned.
I am as anti-pitbull as they come, but have to say that this issue comes up with all breeds. My last pup (a labrador/smithfield cattle dog cross) was a menace with a rope, and wouldn’t let go EVER! If I let the rope go, she’d carry it around all bloody day* nudging me to play again.
*Well, she would’ve if I didn’t hide it after an hour or so. 
Maybe some plug-in is missing or something. Do you have Flash disabled or are using an OS that does not support Flash? (Although, I just checked, and it plays fine on my iPhone, so it shouldn’t be that.) Other than that, I got nothing.
I will agree that terriers tend to be a little more tenacious than other breeds, but there is a lot of variability within breeds. My pit bull does not seem to be particularly high on the “hold on for dear life” scale when playing tug. A release command will have him ease up and let go of whatever he is biting during play. Mind you, I’ve never tried to see what happens if he’s attached to a human being, but my experimentation only goes so far.
i’ll definitely give your comments some thought